A 26-year-old Reddick man who was released recently after two months in the Marion County Jail was back behind bars three days later for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
Luther Lewis Lapole, of 15131 N. U.S. Hwy. 441, is being held without bond after being charged Tuesday evening with simple domestic battery. He was previously arrested in June for allegedly snatching his ex-girlfriend’s purse as she left her job at a fast-food restaurant.
An Ocala Police officer responded to the report of an assault in progress in the area of West Silver Springs Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. A witness told the officer that a man in a dark truck had hit a female more than once. She provided the truck’s tag number and said the man and woman got into the truck and turned onto Fort SW Fort King Street behind Kings Food Market, according to the police report.
The officer located the truck in front of a home on SW Second Street. As she arrived, Lapale jumped out of the truck. The officer looked over and saw the victim knocking on the door of the residence and crying. The victim said it was her mother’s house, the report said.
The victim said she and Lapole were at Little Caesars at MLK Avenue and NW 10th Street, getting pizza for her mom, when they got into an argument because they were both tired from working that day. The victim said she grabbed Lapole’s phone, which she pays for, during the argument and started walking down the road, according to the report.
The victim said after she had walked a while, a white truck pulled up and asked if she needed a ride somewhere. She declined, and then Lapole pulled up in his truck and took her to her mother’s house, the report said.
Both the victim and Lapole said they argued but denied anything physical happened. The officer returned to the laundromat where the witness said she was when she saw the altercation. She described the incident, saying she saw Lapole hitting the victim on the back of her head, yelling “give me back my phone,” according to the report.
The witness said a male in a white truck stopped to break up the fight but Lapole walked away. The witness said she saw the victim sitting at a bus stop when Lapole returned in his truck. Lapole pushed the victim into the truck and sped off recklessly, the report said.
Based on witness statements, Lapole was arrested. While he was being taken to jail, he threatened to kill himself. Jail officials were notified of this during the intake process.